A Phoenix man was sentenced on July 29 to 14 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for shipping methamphetamine and fentanyl to a drug ring in Billings, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Brian Uriel Lopez-Orozco, 27, pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the sentencing.
According to court documents, Lopez-Orozco was identified as a major supplier of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Billings area and ran a drug trafficking operation there for two years. Law enforcement discovered his role while investigating local trafficker Cynthia Pruett and her associates Aaron Meeks and Shaynee Gibbs. Laurel police stopped Meeks and Gibbs on Nov. 9, 2022, finding 360 grams of fentanyl and over $12,000 cash in their vehicle. Officers learned from Gibbs that they were expecting a package containing methamphetamine and fentanyl; investigators had already intercepted it, uncovering nearly four pounds of methamphetamine and seventeen capsules of fentanyl.
Meeks told authorities he regularly picked up packages shipped from Arizona for Pruett—described as “one of the biggest drug dealers in Billings.” Further searches at storage units linked to Pruett uncovered additional drugs and cash. In December 2022, law enforcement executed warrants at Pruett’s storage unit on Billings’ West End as well as her home in Acton; agents found more narcotics along with $4,200 cash. The following month during another traffic stop involving Pruett near Broadview, nearly half a pound of fentanyl was seized along with $2,245 cash.
Pruett, Meeks, and Gibbs eventually pleaded guilty to various drug charges. Meeks had previously lived in Arizona where he purchased drugs from Lopez-Orozco before becoming his personal mechanic; after relocating to Billings in 2021 he introduced Lopez-Orozco’s supply chain into the area through connections like Pruett.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case alongside investigations by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana is part of the Department of Justice appointed by the Attorney General; its offices are located across Montana including Billings—a region it serves by focusing on community safety through ethical enforcement against violent crime among other priorities, according to the official website.